Risk-Taking Mission and Service

 

“Mission and Service refers to the projects, efforts, and work people do to make a positive difference in the lives of others for the purposes of Christ, whether or not they will ever become part of the community of faith.  Clean up and reconstruction after disasters, after-school programs for at-risk children, food banks, and soup kitchens are examples of this type of ministry and mission.  Risk-taking pushes us out of our comfort zone, stretching us beyond service to people we already know, exposing us to people, situations, and needs that we would never ordinarily encounter apart from our deliberate intention to serve Christ.  Putting the phrases together, Risk-Taking Mission and Service involves the efforts to alleviate suffering and injustice to improve the conditions of others in the name of Christ.  As followers of Christ, we cannot live as if suffering has nothing to do with us.  We cannot walk around obvious suffering, ignoring it like those who preceded the Samaritan down the road to Jericho.  We cannot moan about how somebody ought to do something.  We cannot merely lift those who suffer in prayer, asking God to do for us what God created us to do for God!  We hear in the human need of our neighbors the distinct call of God. “